Present day squash racquets are formed from a continuous hollow tube member made of metal or fiber-reinforced resin. The tube member is bent (in the case of a metal tube member) or heat molded (in the case of resin) to define a generally oval head portion for the strings, and the opposite ends of the tube member converge to form a shaft, on which a handle is formed.
In conventional squash racquets, a throat piece is disposed across the lower portion of the head area, and is used to anchor the lower portion of the strings. More recently, Prince Manufacturing, Inc. introduced the Extender.RTM. squash racquet, in which there is no throat piece and the stringing area is extended down into the throat area. In either case, however, the converging tube members meet in generally a Y-shape configuration, and then extend side-by-side, as a double shaft, to the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,626 discloses a badminton racquet and a squash racquet in which the ends of the tube forming the head portion are joined to a single shaft member, or mono-shaft, rather than a double shaft. This is done either by welding the ends of the head portion to a separate shaft member, or by extending one of the tubes (rather than both tubes) to form a shaft.
U.K. patent application No. 2,026,327 discloses a badminton racquet which is forming using a separate throat piece which joins the head to the shaft. The throat piece, which may be made of magnesium alloy, aluminum or plastic, is of Y-shape, and the three extending portions (two arms and the base) are each in the form of a hollow sleeve. The throat piece joins the ends of a metal frame head portion with a metal shaft, preferably by securing the ends of the head portion and shaft within the three tubular sleeves of the Y-member.
During play, the stress applied to the throat area of a squash or tennis racquet frame is substantially higher than in a badminton racquet. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved Y-joint for use particularly in squash racquets, but for use in other racquets as well.